Footwear sole including removable components

ABSTRACT

An article of footwear is provided and includes an upper and a sole attached to the upper, where the sole includes a shell and an outsole attached to the shell, and the shell defines an interior space. A midsole is positioned in the interior space and is removably attached to the shell.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a non-provisional application of and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/362,754 filed on Apr. 11, 2022, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present application relates generally to footwear, and more particularly, to footwear components that are made with sustainable and recyclable materials that are removable from the footwear to help reduce the impact of footwear on the environment.

Footwear includes several footwear components, such as an upper and a sole having a midsole and an outsole. These components are typically made with materials, such as ethylene vinyl acetate and polymer-based materials, that are not readily removable and recyclable. Since the useful life of most footwear is less than a year, used footwear ends up in landfills and garbage dumps and contributes to the global waste problem.

Sustainable materials are materials used throughout consumer and industrial economies that may be produced in required volumes without depleting non-renewable resources and without disrupting the environment and key natural resource systems. Such materials vary enormously and may range from bio-based polymers or highly recyclable materials that can be reprocessed an indefinite number of times without requiring additional mineral resources. These materials help to reduce the amount of waste going to landfills and garbage dumps and thereby help to reduce the impact of waste on the environment and global economies.

It is therefore desirable to provide footwear that includes components made with sustainable materials that help to reduce the impact of used footwear on the environment and global economies.

SUMMARY

The present article of footwear includes one or more footwear components that are made with sustainable, replaceable, interchangeable and/or recyclable materials that are removable from the footwear to be replaced and/or reground and reincorporated in new footwear in the supply chain or recycled for other purposes to help reduce the amount of used footwear deposited in waste storage areas and thereby help reduce global waste.

In an embodiment, an article of footwear is provided and includes an upper and a sole attached to the upper, where the sole includes a shell and an outsole attached to the shell, and the shell defines an interior space. A midsole is positioned in the interior space and is removably attached to the shell.

In another embodiment, a sole for an article of footwear is provided where the sole includes a shell having a peripheral wall and a bottom wall, and the shell defines an interior space and an outsole attached to a bottom surface of the shell. A midsole is positioned in the interior space and is removably attached to the shell.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a right-side view of an embodiment of the present footwear.

FIG. 2 is a left side view of the footwear of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a top view of the footwear of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the footwear of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the footwear of FIG. 1 showing a portion of the sole partially removed.

FIG. 6 is a cross section view of the footwear of FIG. 3 taken substantially along line 6-6 in the direction generally indicated.

FIG. 7 is a cross section view of the footwear of FIG. 2 taken substantially along line 7-7 in the direction generally indicated.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a portion of the sole removed from the footwear of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 9 is a side view of another embodiment of the footwear in which the upper is a sockliner.

FIG. 10A is a side view of the upper of FIG. 9 where the upper part is unfolded or extended away from the lower part of the upper.

FIG. 10B is a side view of the upper in FIG. 10A where an upper part is folded onto a lower part.

FIG. 11 is a side view of a further embodiment of the footwear where the upper is attached to the sole using a removable release strip.

FIG. 12 is a left side view of another embodiment of the footwear.

FIG. 13 is a right side view of the footwear of FIG. 12 .

FIG. 14 is a top view of the footwear of FIG. 12 .

FIG. 15 is a rear view of the footwear of FIG. 12 .

FIG. 16 is a top view of a tongue of the footwear of FIG. 12 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present footwear includes one or more components made with sustainable and/or recyclable materials where the components are removable to reduce the amount of used footwear that is sent to landfills, dumps and other waste areas.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-7 , an article of footwear or shoe 20 includes an embodiment of a sole, generally indicated as 22, where the sole 22 includes a shell 24 attached to an upper 26, and an outsole 28 attached to the shell. The shell 24 is made of a substantially rigid material and has a peripheral wall 30 with an outer surface 32 and an inner surface 34 and a bottom wall 36 attached to the peripheral wall 30 that has an upper surface 38 and a bottom surface 40. The peripheral wall 30 and the bottom wall 36 may be integrally formed together to form the shell 24 or formed separately and attached together in a compression molding process or another suitable attachment process.

In the illustrated embodiment, the shell 24 is made with ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), but may also be made with thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), a foam material or any suitable material or combination of materials. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 , the outsole 28 is attached to a bottom surface 40 of the shell 24 by an adhesive or by molding, and is made of rubber. The outsole 28 typically includes a plurality of tread members 42 that are configured to grip an underlying surface, such as the ground, during movement. It should be appreciated that the outsole 28 may be made of any suitable material or combinations of materials.

Referring to 5-8, the shell 24 defines an interior space 44 that is configured to receive a removable midsole 46. The midsole 46 is preferably made with a recyclable material, such as a sugarcane-based foam material or other suitable biological-based materials, and has a thickness of 2.0 mm to 7.0 mm. In another embodiment, the thickness of the midsole is 10 mm to 40 mm. In this embodiment, the upper surface 48 of the midsole 46 has a contour that corresponds to a shape of a person's foot and thereby acts as a footbed to cushion the person's foot. The material or materials used to make the midsole 46 and the shell 24 may have the same hardness value or different hardness values. In an embodiment, the hardness value of the midsole 46 is less than the hardness value of the shell 24 such that the shell provides support to a person's foot while the midsole cushions the person's foot. In another embodiment, the hardness of the midsole 46 and the shell 24 vary along the lengths and/or widths of the midsole and shell. For example, the hardness value of a medial side of the shell 24 is greater than the hardness values of the lateral side of the shell 24 and the midsole 46 to provide additional support to the medial side of a person's foot to help reduce pronation during movement. In another example, the hardness value of the lateral side of the shell 24 is greater than the hardness values of the medial side of the shell 24 and the midsole 46 to provide additional support to the lateral side of a person's foot to help reduce supination during movement. It should be appreciated that the hardness value of the shell 24 and/or the midsole 46 may be adjusted to provide support and cushioning to different portions of a person's foot.

In the above embodiment, the midsole 46 is removable from the shell 24 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8 . In this way, the midsole 46 is removed from the shell 24 before the footwear is discarded so that the midsole may be recycled and the amount of the remaining portion of the used footwear is less than conventional used footwear. This process reduces the amount of the used footwear that adds to the waste at landfills, dumps and other waste storage areas. Also, by forming the midsole 46 with a thickness of 2.0 mm to 40 mm, the size of the shell 24 is reduced to help reduce the amount of the used footwear going to the waste storage areas. In an embodiment, the amount of the material forming the midsole 46 is equal to or greater than the amount of material forming the shell 24. As described below, the midsole 46 may also be removed and replaced with another midsole made with the same material or a different material depending on a desired level of cushioning, support and comfort. In this way, the midsole 46 may be recycled, replaced and/or interchangeable. In a further embodiment, at least a portion of the midsole is made with an anti-odor material, an anti-bacterial material and/or a moisture wicking material.

Additionally, making the midsole 46 removable from the shell 24 requires less adhesive or glue to hold the midsole in place while also enabling the midsole to be removed from the shell. Less adhesive is also used to attach the upper to the midsole so that the upper is more easily removable from the midsole during disassembly and prior to sending shoe parts to a waste storage area. In an embodiment, at least 50% less adhesive is needed to secure the midsole in place and/or to secure the upper to the midsole, compared to the adhesive used to secure the midsole and upper together with conventional shoes. Using less adhesive reduces material and production costs associated with the shoes and reduces the amount of adhesive, i.e., adhesive components, that ends up in waste storage areas.

In another embodiment, the upper 26 is made with a recyclable material, such as a natural material, i.e., wool, a tree-based material, and/or a sugarcane material, where the upper 26 including the laces, is attached to the shell 24 by stitching about the perimeter of the upper and shell. In this embodiment, the upper is removable from the shell 24 by removing or cutting the stitching attaching the upper to the shell. In another embodiment, the upper is removed from the shell by dissolving or removing adhesive attaching the upper to the shell or the upper 26 may have a frangible connection such that it may be pulled or ripped off of the shell to remove the upper 26 from the shell 24. In an embodiment shown in FIG. 11 , the upper 26 is attached to the shell 24 using a removable strip 50 that extends along the entire perimeter of the upper 26 and the shell 24. The strip 50 may be made of a fabric, a plastic, a wax, a string or cord or any suitable material or combination of materials. In the illustrated embodiment, the strip 50 has a tab 52 at one end that is attached to the shell 24 or upper 26 by an adhesive or other suitable attachment method, and able to be pulled away so that a person may grip the tab 52 and pull the strip 50 away from the upper 26 and shell 24 along the entire perimeter of the upper and the shell to separate and remove the upper from the shell. The removed upper 26 may then be recycled to further reduce the amount of the used footwear going to waste storage areas.

Referring to FIGS. 9, 10A and 10B, another embodiment of the present article of footwear 53 is shown where the footwear includes a shell 54 and an upper 56 attached to the shell. In this embodiment, the upper 56 is made of a single piece of material and has an upper part 58 and a lower part 60. The lower part 60 forms a liner defining an interior space 62 configured for receiving a person's foot. As shown, a peripheral wall 64 of the shell 54 defines a recessed area 66 that receives the lower part 60 of the upper 56 where the lower part is attached to the peripheral wall 64 and/or an upper surface 68 of a bottom wall 70 of the shell 54 by stitching, adhesive or any suitable attachment method, where the lower part 60 is removable from the shell prior to discarding the footwear. The upper part 58 of the upper 56 initially is in an extended position shown in FIG. 10A when the lower part is placed within recessed area 66 of the shell 54 and then folded or stretched over the lower part as shown in FIG. 10B where the upper part 58 is also attached to the shell 54 and forms the outer layer of the upper. In another embodiment, the upper part 58 is attached to the lower part 60 of the upper 56 to secure the upper part in place. In the above embodiment, the upper part 58 and the lower part 60 are made with a single piece of material. In another embodiment, the upper part 58 and the lower part 60 are made with different materials and the attached together at one end to form the liner.

In the above embodiments, the outsole may be made with a recyclable material, such as rubber, and attached to the sole using an adhesive, stitching or other suitable attachment method. In this way, the outsole may be removed from the sole by dissolving the adhesive or pulling the outsole away from the sole. In an embodiment, the outsole is removed from the bottom of the sole by grinding the outsole using a grinding apparatus. The ground particles of the outsole may then be collected and recycled. In an embodiment, the bottom surface of the sole includes a wear indicator, such as a colored material or the bottom of the sole has a color, so that the grinding of the outsole stops when the wear indicator is visible. It should be appreciated that any suitable type of wear indicator may be used on the bottom of the sole. Furthermore, the outsole may also be sanded off of the bottom of the sole using a sanding apparatus.

Referring now to FIGS. 12 to 16 , another embodiment of the present footwear is shown where the footwear 72 includes an upper 74 attached to a sole 76. The sole 76 includes a shell 78 made out of EVA or another suitable material as described above, having a peripheral wall 80 and a bottom wall 82. In an embodiment, the shell 78 is integrally formed by molding, three-dimensional (3D) printing or another process. In another embodiment, the peripheral wall 80 and the bottom wall 82 are formed separately and then joined together by an adhesive, stitching, molding or another process. In the illustrated embodiment, the upper 74 is attached to the shell by stitching and/or an adhesive. The upper 74 may be made out of any suitable material as described above. An outsole 84 made of rubber or other suitable material, is attached to a bottom surface 86 of the sole 76, and more specifically, to the bottom surface of the shell 78. Also, a tongue 88 is separately made and attached to the upper 74 by stitching or other attachment process.

In this embodiment, the peripheral wall of the shell has a height H2 that is greater than 50% of the height H1 of the footwear or shoe along at least a portion of the length of the footwear. This construction provides additional support to the sides of a person's foot during movement. In other embodiments, The height of the peripheral wall may be greater than 50% of the height of the shoe on the medial side of the shoe, on the lateral side of the shoe, or along the entire perimeter of the shoe. Similar to the above embodiments, a midsole 90 (FIG. 14 ) as described above, is inserted into the shell. When the shoe is ready to be discarded, the midsole 90 is removed and recycled. Also, the upper 74 and the outsole 84 are also removed and recycled. The shell 78 may also be made with a recyclable material and recycled. In another embodiment, a new midsole may be inserted into the shell if the upper, shell and outsole still may be used. In this situation, the removed midsole is recycled.

In the above embodiments, the midsole may be removed and replaced with a different midsole. For example, a first midsole may be made with a highly pliable soft foam material that provides additional cushioning for a person's foot, and a second midsole may be made with a foam material having a support member, such as a carbon-fiber base plate, that provides additional support in designated areas of a person's foot. A person may use the first midsole or the second midsole depending on the type of runner that they are and the amount of cushioning and support they need. It should be appreciated that there may be a plurality of midsoles having different amounts of cushioning and support that may be inserted in the shell. In this embodiment, the midsoles are made with a recyclable material so that when the midsoles are ready to be discarded, they are removed and/or recycled as described above.

While particular embodiments of the present footwear are shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the invention in its broader aspects and as set forth in the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An article of footwear comprising: an upper; a sole attached to the upper, the sole including a shell and an outsole attached to the shell, wherein the shell defines an interior space; and a midsole positioned in the interior space and removably attached to the shell.
 2. The article of footwear of claim 1, wherein a thickness of the midsole is greater than a thickness of the shell.
 3. The article of footwear of claim 1, wherein the shell including a peripheral wall and a bottom wall.
 4. The article of footwear of claim 1, wherein a thickness of the midsole varies along at least one of a length and a width of the midsole.
 5. The article of footwear of claim 4, wherein a thickness of the shell varies along at least one of a length and a width of the midsole.
 6. The article of footwear of claim 1, wherein a thickness of the shell varies along at least one of a length and a width of the midsole.
 7. The article of footwear of claim 1, further comprising a removable strip attached to the upper and the sole, wherein the strip extends about a peripheral surface of the upper and the sole.
 8. The article of footwear of claim 7, wherein the strip includes a tab configured to be gripped by a user and pulled away from the upper and the sole.
 9. The article of footwear of claim 1, wherein the upper includes an upper part and a lower part, the upper part being movable between an extended position and a folded position, wherein in the folded position the upper part at least partially overlaps the lower part.
 10. The article of footwear of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of midsoles, wherein at least two of the midsoles are made with a different material, and one of midsoles is positioned in the shell.
 11. A sole for an article of footwear, the sole comprising: a shell including a peripheral wall and a bottom wall, the shell defining an interior space; an outsole attached to a bottom surface of the shell; and a midsole positioned in the interior space and removably attached to the shell.
 12. The sole of claim 11, wherein a thickness of the midsole is greater than a thickness of the shell.
 13. The sole of claim 11, wherein a thickness of the midsole varies along at least one of a length and a width of the midsole.
 14. The sole of claim 13, wherein a thickness of the shell varies along at least one of a length and a width of the midsole.
 15. The sole of claim 11, wherein a thickness of the shell varies along at least one of a length and a width of the midsole.
 16. The article of footwear of claim 11, further comprising a plurality of midsoles, wherein at least two of the midsoles are made with a different material, and one of midsoles is positioned in the shell. 